Page 23 of Seductive Hearts

“You look stunning,” I whispered, and her eyes widened a fraction, her cheeks turning pink before we started up the pathway leading to the Jones mansion.

It wasn’t as large as the Goldsmith estate, but it was impressive, and already guests were spilling out from open doors and chatting on the side patio. Lanterns had been strung up there, and a band played soft, gentle standards. I wouldn’t want to offend anybody by playing music from the second half of the twentieth century.

“I wonder where he is.” Rose only had eyes for Landon, and more than once, she stood on her tiptoes, trying to see over the heads of the dozens of people hugging, kissing, and drinking champagne. I would need something a little stronger than a pretentious, bubbly drink if I was expected to keep from rolling my eyes or gagging.

“Here.” I accepted a pair of flutes and handed her one. “Drink this. Loosen up a little. He’ll find us,” I predicted, nodding in acknowledgment of a few familiar faces. Older people, probably my grandparents’ contemporaries. One of the women looked at the other and muttered something that made them both smile before they turned their attention my way again.

What, were they surprised to see me at a respectable function? Wondering if Daddy knew I was so far off my leash.

We had yet to step into the house, and I could tell Rose’s impatience was beginning to grow, but I needed something a little stronger to bolster myself. I hadn’t considered needing to make nice with a bunch of fucking hypocrites who thrived on gossip. Like there was a single family in our rarified world who didn’t have dark fucking secrets.

Scotch was more my speed, though I made it a point to sip it judiciously as we meandered our way through the party. Inside, the crowd got thicker, meaning we were getting closer to the man of the hour.

“There is a fuck ton of money in this room,” I murmured close to Rose’s ear.

She turned her head quickly, so suddenly our mouths almost touched. Her lashes fluttered before she cleared her throat. “I’m telling you he can’t lose.”

“You are really serious about this, huh?” I found it hard to believe, and not only because we had come a heartbeat from kissing. How could she be so smart and so blind?

“I told you this is what I want.” Her eyes widened, and she lifted her hand to someone across the room. And just like that, I was forgotten. “Landon, there you are!”

I gritted my teeth as he approached and noticed how his gaze bounced between Rose and me. “Good evening, you two. So glad you could make it on short notice. Rose, you look gorgeous tonight.” He leaned in for a chaste peck on her cheek before pulling back and arching an eyebrow at me. “That all right with you?” he asked, grinning. His way of asking the question he wouldn’t dare speak out loud. Is she taken? Have you claimed her yet?

“Sure,” I replied with a grin. It was a good thing I wasn’t holding a champagne flute anymore, or I might have broken the stem. “After all, you’re going to have to do a lot of kissing on the campaign trail. Babies, old ladies… the asses of countless donors.”

“Colton!” Rose placed a hand against my chest while elbowing me with her other arm, getting me right in the ribs. “I swear, I can’t take him anywhere,” she told Landon before blowing out an exaggerated sigh.

“It’s very nice to see you two together like this,” he added, turning to her like something had just occurred to him. “You mentioned something about grabbing coffee soon. I would love to do that. Have your assistant reach out to mine, and we’ll see what my schedule will permit. You’re going to be in the area for a while, right?”

It was a good thing I was holding onto her, or she might have taken flight. As it was, my hand ached from her squeezing the hell out of it. “Yes, I’ll be spending a lot of my time on the new store and staying at the house here,” she confirmed.

“We’ll get together soon.” He gave her another kiss, followed by a pat on my shoulder. And then he was gone, kissing ass somewhere else.

“What did I tell you?” I asked, downing the rest of my drink and slamming the glass on the nearest table. “Come on. I feel like dancing.”

“What?”

I ignored Rose’s question and the laughter that followed, cutting my way through the crowd on the way out to the patio. I needed some air. There were too many bodies everywhere—too much perfume, aftershave, and hairspray—I could barely breathe.

Landon was going to make his move.

He was almost painfully predictable.

What was worse was the absolute joy radiating from Rose once we reached the dance floor, which had been laid out over the brick patio. There were a handful of couples dancing. Old people dancing to old music was practically a fundraiser staple.

We were the youngest couple out there by at least twenty years as I placed a hand against Rose’s smooth back and drew her close.

“I have to admit…” she placed her hand in mine, then laid the other on my shoulder, “… I didn’t think it would be that easy.” She was downright giddy, her eyes sparkling as we began to sway.

“Let’s not get ahead of ourselves.” I couldn’t help but bring her down to reality for her own sake, if for no other reason. He didn’t have the first idea what it meant to be with a woman like Rose. He’d never have the time for her. Never put in the effort to satisfy her. “I wouldn’t start picking out wedding china yet. Do people still do that?”

“It’s a start,” she retorted. “He was way more interested in me when he saw me with you.”

Her hand slid up my shoulder until it was cupping the back of my neck. “Maybe we should, I don’t know… make things look legit? Get him really good and jealous?”

She would never understand how she was trying my self-control. Her body pressed against mine, swaying along with me to a gentle rhythm, looking and smelling like something out of a dream, so beautiful she made heads turn. The lanterns cast pink, blue, and gold light on us, the colors playing across her perfect face.

Hunger uncoiled in my core. What was I doing? Pushing her into another man’s arms when I wanted her in my bed tonight. She was buzzed after a couple of glasses of champagne, paired with feeling victorious and practically begging me to take advantage of the situation, pulling me down, seeking my lips.

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